Chapter 605 – That’s an Insult to My Pride!
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“Squeak! Squeak!” The juvenile zombie bared its teeth and hissed fiercely.
Ling Mo chuckled, “Yo, you’re not admitting it? That guy just now could be considered your dad, right? Looks like you’ve doomed him, haven’t you?”
“Squeak~!” The juvenile zombie, likely having never seen a human so unafraid of death, was astonished to see one leisurely strutting right in front of it, chattering away endlessly…
As it emitted ear-piercing cries, it stretched out its short legs in an attempt to kick Ling Mo.
But Shana simply raised her arm, and the little zombie’s attack completely missed its mark.
Being small has its disadvantages!
“How should we use this one to find them?” Shana glanced at the little zombie and asked.
“Look around…” Ling Mo didn’t directly answer, but instead looked around.
In the darkness, several faint red dots appeared—there was no need to think too hard to know that these were zombies.
“Considering the behavior of that zombie just now, I think it wasn’t trying to attack you but was instead trying to retrieve this little one. Remember the juvenile zombies we saw back in City A?” Ling Mo said in a low voice as he cautiously moved closer to Ye Lian and the others.
Li Ya Lin immediately nodded excitedly, “Mhm!” She spoke nostalgically, “The flying babies!”
“…That’s one way to put it. Juvenile zombies are both treated as ‘warriors’ and are fiercely protected by their kind, right?” Ling Mo continued, “The same principle applies here. This juvenile zombie comes out to hunt but also receives protection from the rest of the zombie group. Look at Xiao Bai; it was attacked, but not only by this juvenile. The larger zombies coordinate with the juveniles during the hunt, just like wild animals bringing their young to learn how to hunt.”
“Now that we’ve taken it captive, it’s like we’ve lit a lantern here.” Ling Mo explained as simply as possible.
Shana could understand, but Ye Lian and Li Ya Lin might not, so Ling Mo generally used straightforward metaphors.
As it turned out, this method was quite effective.
“Ling Mo, are you saying that more zombies will come and attack us?” Shana asked.
“Mhm. No matter where Yu s.h.i.+ran is, this commotion will attract her attention,” Ling Mo said confidently with a smile.
Ye Lian tilted her head, looking puzzled, “Why… why is that?”
“Because…” Ling Mo’s smile quickly turned into a grimace, and Ye Lian and the others noticed that this human was cracking his knuckles with an ominous sound, “She won’t miss out on a situation like this. Who knows, we might even end up in a situation where both us and the zombies suffer losses.”
“Hehehehe…”
Ye Lian stared blankly at Ling Mo, then gently tugged at Shana’s sleeve, “Nana…”
“I know.” Shana nodded earnestly, “You’re right, he’s that special kind of human mentioned in the books.”
“Lunatic,” Li Ya Lin blurted out.
The three female zombies exchanged glances and simultaneously revealed a slight smile.
“Eh, what are you laughing about?” Coming back to his senses, Ling Mo asked.
“Nothing… just, we’ve learned something new,” Shana quickly replied.
“Ah, good to keep learning,” Ling Mo said casually, then waved his hand, “This way, let’s head towards the underground mall. Let the zombies follow us. Even if Yu s.h.i.+ran doesn’t notice, Black Silk will sense the anomalies.”
“Why are we going to the underground mall? Aren’t we going back to join the other humans?” Li Ya Lin asked, puzzled.
“About that… I have other plans…” Ling Mo said with a slight smile.
…
At this moment inside a cell phone store, a trembling figure was holding a gun, nervously moving between the counters and posters.
“Mu Chen! Xia Zhi! Ling Mo!” Xu Shuhan called out in a trembling voice, but received no response.
The store was still shadowy, seemingly full of figures everywhere, yet also seemingly empty.
Xu Shuhan tried her best to suppress the fear in her heart, breathing rapidly: “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid… I’m not alone, I’m not alone…”
“Clang!”
“Ah!” Her heel suddenly b.u.mped into an uninstalled aluminum strip, making a slight noise.
Such a tiny sound was enough to scare Xu Shuhan half to death: “Where the h.e.l.l is everyone else?”
By now, she had slowly searched her way to the other side of the mall.
Through the gaps between the floor-to-ceiling windows and the huge posters, she saw the zombies wandering outside.
Not too far from the mall, but also not too close, their number had increased from before.
These creatures, which normally seemed terrifying and disgusting, now gave Xu Shuhan a sense of security.
Although she was in this dark and quiet place, with those monsters outside, at least it meant that nothing would suddenly jump out at her…
“Wow!”
A very abrupt shout suddenly came from the side, startling Xu Shuhan so much that her body s.h.i.+vered instantly, her heart nearly jumped to her throat, and the gun was immediately aimed in that direction.
“Ahhh!”
“d.a.m.n, don’t shout!”
The person who made the noise was also startled and jumped over, grabbing the gun barrel while their finger got stuck in the trigger, and the other hand covered Xu Shuhan’s mouth.
Xu Shuhan’s eyes widened, and after a second of silence, she finally calmed down.
“Mmm…?”
“Yes, it’s me! You’re too timid…” Mu Chen looked at Xu Shuhan with a conflicted face, and then looked outside past her.
Fortunately, the soundproofing here was pretty good, and the zombies outside didn’t hear anything.
“But why is it just you? Where’s Xia Zhi? That… that jerk and his girlfriend?” Mu Chen withdrew his gaze and curiously asked Xu Shuhan.
Xu Shuhan’s eyes were still wide, and she did not respond.
“Oh… sorry, I was afraid you’d attract the zombies…” Mu Chen quickly let go of her, saying somewhat awkwardly.
However, the next moment was even more awkward…
Xu Shuhan’s gaze was still vacant, her chest heaved twice, and just as Mu Chen was about to ask with a puzzled look, the female broadcaster suddenly opened her mouth.
“Bleh~!”
A large mouthful of water was spat out as Xu Shuhan wiped her mouth and eyes, still waving her hand disgustedly, “You… stay away from me…”
Mu Chen was stunned for a moment, then suddenly his face was covered in tears.
Was it really necessary to spit it out just because I covered your mouth?!
Xu Shuhan vigorously wiped her mouth and cheeks with a handkerchief, but upon seeing the greenish stains on it, she couldn’t help but vomit again…
“Hey, enough already, you’ve been vomiting nonstop, that’s really hurting my pride!” Mu Chen lamented, “If it were Ling Mo, you wouldn’t be vomiting, right?”
“Ling Mo isn’t as smelly as you…”
“Tsk tsk, someone’s heart is fluttering!”
“What are you talking about! Stay away from me!”
“Your face is red, it’s red!”
“Get lost!”
The two of them kept bickering, one leaning against the wall and the other incessantly vomiting against the counter, none of them noticing a figure slowly approaching from not too far away.
“Zzz… Zzz…”
It sounded like something being dragged, getting louder as it neared, and this finally caught the attention of Mu Chen and Xu Shuhan.
“What’s that noise!” Xu Shuhan, now somewhat on edge, jumped up to aim her gun, backing against the wall in one fluid motion.
Mu Chen also quickly drew his knife, as a silhouette slowly emerged from behind a pillar.
“Xia Zhi?” Mu Chen, with sharp eyes, recognized him.
But then, his mouth fell open…
Along with Xia Zhi, there was a body being dragged backward…
Hearing the shout, Xia Zhi looked up and then waved at Mu Chen and Xu Shuhan.
“…Is it just me, or does Xia Zhi look a bit too much like a stalker killer right now?” Mu Chen asked, waving back.
Xu Shuhan paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
As the body was dragged closer, Mu Chen became even more unsettled.
“Ah! That’s the zombie I was chasing! I wondered where it went, and you found it!” Mu Chen exclaimed.
He had followed a shadow on his own, but after several times only seeing a glimpse and eventually losing track of it.
After Xia Zhi made some gestures, Xu Shuhan “translated”: “He was attracted by moving posters, one after another, and then he found this zombie in the emergency pa.s.sageway…”
“How strange, I thought this zombie came to ambush us, why would it run into the emergency pa.s.sageway?” Mu Chen pondered, scratching his chin and frowning in confusion.
Xia Zhi and Xu Shuhan stared at the body, shaking their heads as well.
“Forget it, where are Ling Mo and the others?” Mu Chen asked again.
Xu Shuhan slowly shook her head, indicating that she didn’t know either.
“No way, they’re gone too?” Mu Chen’s eyes widened, “We better start searching quickly, if we lose them, Ai Feng will definitely take the opportunity to give me trouble!”